Asian culture festival in Darjeeling next year

Darjeeling: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said
the government would organise an Asian culture festival in Darjeeling
next year.

Mamata also directed development boards in the hills
to promote homestays and struck a chord with the people by announcing
that the campuses of the planned Darjeeling Hill University would be
named after hill icons like Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and poet Bhanubhakta
Acharya.

Speaking at an event to lay the foundation of the
Chowrasta revamp in Darjeeling, Mamata said: "As part of community
policing, Darjeeling police organised a wonderful Rising Star
competition. The culture of the hills is so sound, the youths are so
talented. In Darjeeling next year, we will organise an Asian culture
festival with a competition."

Asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and others will be invited.

The chief minister directed the 15 development boards of the hills to
start focusing on homestays. "They are now building homes for the needy
but I want them to allocate (50 percent of the funds) for building,
beautifying homestays. We started homestays at Lamahatta and with such
an initiative many people can earn their livelihoods."

State
principal secretary S.K. Thade has been entrusted with the task of
co-ordinating with the development boards while state tourism minister
Gautam Deb has been directed to come up with a model.

The chief
minister said since cycles could not be provided to hill students unlike
in the plains, the 28,000 hill students from Classes IX to Class XII
would be given schoolbags and raincoats.

Jamling Tenzing Norgay,
son of the legendary Everester, was also invited to the dais. "Binay
(Tamang) told me that in Takdah, just a building of an engineering
college was standing. We can explore the possibility of tying this
institution with the new university," Jamling said.

The Telegraph

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Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said the government would organise an Asian culture festival in Darjeeling next year.